Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
I appreciate St. Paul and a lot of the beautiful Scripture writing attributed to him. I also find that some of his words get under my skin as a 21st century Christian woman trying, along with my husband, to pass on to our daughter and two sons the value that women and men (and all people, for that matter) are equal and are to be treated as such. Granted, in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (3:28) we have the radical-at-that-time proclamation, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ.” But today’s Letter to Titus does not demonstrate a similar equality.
Advising self-control and temperance of both men and women, Paul’s letter likely reflects the cultural norms at that time in the passage stating that older women were to train younger women to be self-controlled, “…under the control of their husbands” (Titus 2:5). Similarly, a verse omitted from today’s reading advises that slaves are to be under the control of their masters, which is perhaps even more shocking in this day and age. It’s important to acknowledge that while writing within that cultural context, St. Paul was never advocating an abuse of power and even begins this letter to Titus referring to himself as “a slave of God.” Some Scripture scholars tell us that Paul, however, likely did not outright challenge the societal norms, such as slavery, because he believed these inequalities would be ending very soon with Jesus’ imminent second coming (1 Corinthians 7). Of course from our vantage point, we realize that Jesus’ return didn’t happen in Paul’s life-time or the ensuing 2,000 years, but it’s important to interpret his writings within these contexts.
I find today’s Gospel reading from Luke (17:7-10) challenging in a different way; one that my ego doesn’t like: Jesus calls us all to take on a servant’s attitude. “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” My ego would like to be recognized for doing what I am “obliged” to do. There’s that part of me that wants to be affirmed for “doing the right thing,” and probably even hopes that in some way I will be rewarded. Yet this is not the way of the cross. As St. Paul reminds us at the end of today’s first reading, Jesus “gave himself for us…”, and it is in our dying to our ego, choosing to serve God by serving others, that we find our True selves, beloved sons and daughters of God.
I am reminded of the lyrics of one of my favorite church songs (The Servant Song by Richard Gillard), “Will you let me be your servant, Let me be as Christ to you….” How am I being called to serve others today? this week? At home, at work, in my community, in the larger global community, how might I “hold the Christ light for you”? Can I serve simply out of love without the hope of recognition or reward? As the song continues, “We are pilgrims on a journey, we are trav’lers on the road; We are here to help each other, walk the mile and bear the load.” Let us pray for and serve one another in love, recognizing that we are all one in Christ.
~Eileen Miller